The History of the Coptic Orthodox Church               

The Coptic Church is one of the most ancient churches in the world (along side of the Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch and Rome), having been founded by Saint Mark the Apostle, during the first century AD, traditionally, in 43 AD or 61 AD. The Copts are the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, and the word "Copts" itself is derived from the Greek word "Aegyptus" which means Egypt. Saint Mark came to Egypt during the first or third year of the Roman Emperor Claudius (i.e. in 41-42 AD or 43-44 AD) and he visited Alexandria again, to preach and evangelize, between 61 and 68 AD. St. Mark was able to win many converts and to found the Church in Egypt. At that time, Christianity spread rapidly throughout the country. The Egyptians were a deeply religious race by nature and they responded gladly to the preaching of Christian faith, the ancient Egyptian religion, with its symbols and concepts had done much to prepare the people for the coming of Christianity. Purely Coptic Christian period extends for about six centuries at the dawn of the Christian era.

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is a very conservative church, which preserves most carefully the Christian faith, in its earliest and purest form, passed on from generation to generation, unaltered and true to the apostolic doctrine and pattern of worship. It is a deeply spiritual and even mystical church, with an emphasis upon holiness, and the mysteries of faith, but at the same time it is a strongly doctrinal church, holding faithfully to the canons of the Holy Scripture and the apostolic and orthodox creeds and teachings of the church fathers of the first three ecumenical councils.

Throughout the years the Coptic Orthodox Church has stood firm and has remained faithful to her apostolic traditions and orthodox faith, despite waves of fearful persecutions under pagan Roman emperors, and to lesser extent under Byzantine and Arab rulers, and in the face of serious heresies that attacked the very fiber and essence of the Christian faith and threatened to split the church and all of Christendom.

Saint Mark was the first Patriarch of the Coptic Church, and he received his martyrdom in Alexandria on the Feast of Resurrection (Easter) in 68 AD. The patriarchs of the Coptic Orthodox Church have continued in a line of unbroken succession from Saint Mark until the present day. The current Patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, is the one hundred and seventeenth Patriarch to occupy the Chair of Saint Mark in the See of Alexandria.

During the Coptic Era, the Coptic Church played a paramount role in defining Christian doctrines and in shaping Christian movements. Moreover, the Coptic Church is very unique among all other Christian churches. The distinguishing characters of the Coptic Church can be briefly summarized in the following:

1. The Coptic Church was predicted:

The Church of Egypt is the only church among the churches of the nations that her foundation was predicted in the Old Testament. Isaiah the Prophet gave a prophecy about the Coptic Church" In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border" (Isaiah 19: 19). The altar mentioned in the above prophecy is not a pagan altar, for it is an altar to the Lord; nor a Jewish altar, for the Jews were not allowed to sacrifice outside Jerusalem. It is then the Christian altar on which the Egyptians offered sacrifices to the Lord when they knew the Lord and He became known to Egypt. And it is a sign and a witness to the Lord according to the prophecy in the Book of Isaiah the prophet.

The divine inspiration concludes this chapter of the Book of Isaiah with the words of the Lord, "Blessed is Egypt My people" (Isaiah 19:25). What beautiful words are these "My People"! But of course God does not bless the people of Egypt in their paganism, but in their faith. He blesses the Church of Egypt: the Coptic Church.

2. The Holy Family in Egypt:

Egypt was the only country that the Lord Jesus has visited other than his place of birth. There were other neighboring countries in the same continent, but the Lord chose Egypt to bless the land where his alter will stand as a sign and a witness to the Lord.

This visit has been recorded in the Gospel and the child Jesus stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod, then He returned so that another prophecy might be fulfilled: "Out of Egypt I called My Son" (Matthew 2: 14). Furthermore, this visit has fulfilled other prophesies in the Book of Isaiah: "Behold, the Lord rides on a Swift Cloud, and will come into Egypt" (Isaiah 19: 1), "The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst" This literally happened throughout the visit of the Holy Family, as whenever the Lord entered a city, the idols fell and the Holy Family were dismissed and moved to another city, thus many places in Egypt were sanctified. No country, other than Egypt, enjoyed such a visit by the Holy Family. It is a visit mentioned in the Holy Scripture, and recorded in history. Can we say that the Holy Virgin has, perhaps, longed for visiting the land of Egypt again, so she appeared on the domes of the church named after her in the suburb of Cairo in 1968?

3. The Coptic Church: A Church of Martyrs:

Martyrdom of Copts extended throughout the ages, and it was so severe during prolonged periods of persecution. Most of the other churches enjoyed peace after the heathen era or suffered under short-term oppressive authorities. Many of the pagan Roman emperors regarded the Church of Egypt as the head of the snake (Christianity) and made special efforts to persecute the Egyptian church. The Coptic Church suffered another period of martyrdom inflicted by her Christian brethren after the dissention of Chalcedon from 451-644 AD. Martyrdom continued under several Arab rulers such as AI Hakem Bi Amr Allah and in the days of Memlouks and Ottomans.

4. The Catechetical School of Alexandria:

During the first few centuries of the Christian Church, the famous Catechetical School of Alexandria was an important light and means of instruction in the Christian faith and the study of theology. The pre-Christian School of Alexandria contained the world famous library and museum, and it became the major set of learning and philosophy for the whole of the ancient Hellenistic world. According to tradition, St. Mark had opened the first Christian Catechetical School in Alexandria for the instruction of the new converts, and during the following two centuries, the Didascalium developed and expanded under the deanery of great philosophers and doctors of theology, such as Athenagors, Pantaenus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, St. Athanasius and, St. Didymus the blind.

5. Coptic Heroes of Faith:

The council of Nicea (325 AD) was the beginning of an era in the history of the Church that could be defined as the age of the Ecumenical Councils. Those Councils set the basis of the Christian Creed. In all of them, the role of the Copts was supreme. Unsurpassed theological and philosophical contributions to the Christian doctrine and dogma were made by Coptic heroes such as St. Athanasius the Apostolic from the fourth century and 8t. Cyril the First from the fifth century. The Ecumenical Movement ended with the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD).

6. Monasticism: the qift of the Coptic Church to Christendom:

Egypt is known to be the Motherland of Christian Monasticism. Monasticism sprang into existence in Egypt as early as the second half of the third century. In few decades, it spread over the whole Christian world. The first monk in the world, St. Anthony the Great, was a Coptic from Upper Egypt. St Anthony was born in 251 and departed 356 AD. All the early fathers of monasticism were his disciples. His biography has been written by St. Athanasius in his famous book "Vita Antonii" which he sent to Rome and was a cause of the conversion of St. Augustine.

The Coptic Church Today

Today, The Coptic Orthodox Church is the largest Christian Church in the Middle East, with about 10 million faithful in Egypt. There are now hundreds of Coptic churches throughout the world, in Australia, Canada, Europe, the United States of America, and throughout Africa and the Middle East. The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and is a member of the World Council of Churches. The Coptic Orthodox Church has recently acquired Sacred Heart Church in Ottawa Street, Windsor. The church is named after St. Mary and St. Moses.